Table of Contents
- 1 Why did the Big Bang only make hydrogen and helium?
- 2 Why were so few elements and isotopes produced during the Big Bang?
- 3 Why did it only produce elements up to iron Fe )?
- 4 What’s the difference between hydrogen gas and helium?
- 5 Why is iron Fe special in the evolution of main sequence star nucleosynthesis?
Why did the Big Bang only make hydrogen and helium?
The early universe (left) was too hot for electrons to remain bound to atoms. The first elements — hydrogen and helium — couldn’t form until the universe had cooled enough to allow their nuclei to capture electrons (right), about 380,000 years after the Big Bang.
Why didn’t all of the elements form during Big Bang nucleosynthesis?
Heavy elements couldn’t form right after the Big Bang because there aren’t any stable nuclei with 5 or 8 nucleons.
Why were so few elements and isotopes produced during the Big Bang?
Big Bang nucleosynthesis produced very few nuclei of elements heavier than lithium due to a bottleneck: the absence of a stable nucleus with 8 or 5 nucleons. This deficit of larger atoms also limited the amounts of lithium-7 produced during BBN.
Did the Big Bang created all elements?
Most of the hydrogen and helium in the Universe were created in the moments after the Big Bang. Heavier elements came later. The explosive power of supernovae creates and disperses a wide range of elements.
Why did it only produce elements up to iron Fe )?
Elements with atomic numbers close to iron are produced in large quantities in supernova due to explosive oxygen and silicon fusion, followed by radioactive decay of nuclei such as Nickel-56. …
Why did no elements heavier than helium and trace amounts of lithium form during the early universe?
Aside from a tiny amount of lithium, nucleosynthesis beyond helium could not take because the Universe expanded and cooled too quickly. (The heavier the elements to be fused, the greater the required temperature.) It is now known that the elements observed in the Universe were created in either of two ways.
What’s the difference between hydrogen gas and helium?
The key difference between hydrogen and helium is that hydrogen is a diatomic gas, while helium is a monatomic gas. Helium has a fully filled s orbital (1s2), but in hydrogen, there is only one electron (1s1), so it is unstable. Compared to hydrogen, helium is an inert gas.
What is the difference between an atom of hydrogen and that of helium?
Atoms of hydrogen have a single proton in their center and a single electron in the lowest energy level. Helium atoms, on the other hand, have two protons and two electrons in the lowest energy level.
Why is iron Fe special in the evolution of main sequence star nucleosynthesis?
Fusing He to make Be goes the wrong way and this reaction requires energy INPUT to make it happen. Nature doesn’t care for these sorts of reactions. So Iron (Fe) is the most stable of all the nuclei and if the temperature of the Universe were high enough, this is where everything would be headed.